Can India Supplement The Precarious Global Whiskey Supply?

Two days ago, Whisky and Wings brought you an exclusive update on the possibility of an ensuing supply shortage in the whisky market. Today, we have found a solution for this shortage that may see the tides turn and the entrance of a new major whisky producer. That producer is India and their new single malt whisky line is known as Amrut.




According to Luxist Magazine, Amrut Fusion is derived from a combination of Indian and Scottish barleys. The Indian barley comes from India's agricultural bread-basket: The Punjab region. The distillation process takes place in Bangalore at 3,000 ft. above sea level. The spirits are matured separately in oak for less than 4 years. After each reaches peak, the two are married in Bourbon casks. Just prior to its U.S. entry, noted whisky writer Jim Murray rated Amrut Fusion" third best whisky in the world in his 2010 "Whisky Bible," rating it 97. The rating stunned the whisky establishment, especially in Scotland.

David Kiley, an award winning journalist with more than 25 years of writing about the wine and spirits industry reports: "The result is a complexity of fruit and smoke that I have never tasted in a Scotch whisky. Since it is Winter Olympics time, I'll use a handy analogy. Drinking Fusion is like watching a skater who breaks all the rules and combines quad and triple jumps in a totally unexpected way, and saves big jumps until the last quarter of the routine when most skaters are too tired to attempt the big jumps. You keep expecting the skater's routine to fall apart, and he never does. And neither does Amrut. Murray's unexpected high rating for Amrut has made the brand one of the biggest curiosities of the year among whiskey drinkers who have not tried it abroad."


 
Sources:

http://davidkiley.com/
http://www.luxist.com/2010/02/25/indian-whisky-amrut-hits-u-s-stores-in-march/
http://www.amrutwhisky.co.uk/